UJ-M-003: Choose and Purchase Membership Plan

Member selects a membership plan and completes payment to become a paid member

Journey Overview

Attribute	Value
Journey ID	UJ-M-003
Actor	Registered member without active membership
Goal	Purchase a membership plan to access member benefits
Trigger	User clicks “Upgrade” or visits membership plans page
Outcome	User has active paid membership with full access

Preconditions

• User has completed registration
• User profile is complete (or minimum required)
• User does not have an active membership (or upgrading)
• At least one membership plan is published

Journey Flow

Detailed Steps

1. Browse Membership Plans

   Member navigates to Membership Plans page.

   Displayed Information per Plan:

   • Plan name and description
   • Price (monthly/annual options)
   • Feature list with checkmarks
   • “Most Popular” or “Best Value” badges
   • “Current Plan” indicator if applicable

   Sorting/Filtering:

   • Plans ordered by price (low to high) or featured
   • Category filter if multiple plan types exist
2. Compare Plans

   Member reviews plan comparison table:

   Feature	Basic	Professional	Enterprise
   Member directory	✅	✅	✅
   Event discounts	10%	20%	30%
   Course access	Limited	Full	Full + Priority
   CPD tracking	✅	✅	✅
   Resource library	Basic	Full	Full + Archives
   Support	Standard	Priority	Dedicated
   Price/month	$19	$49	$99

3. Select Plan

   Member clicks “Select” or “Choose Plan” button.

   If plan has pricing tiers:

   • Monthly billing option
   • Annual billing (with discount, e.g., “Save 20%”)
   • Multi-year options if available

   If upgrading:

   • Shows prorated amount
   • Explains billing change
4. Apply Promo Code (Optional)

   Member enters promotional code:

   Promo Code Types:

   • Percentage discount (e.g., 25% off)
   • Fixed amount discount (e.g., $50 off)
   • Free trial extension
   • First month/year free

   Validation:

   • Code exists and is active
   • Code applies to selected plan
   • Code not already used by member
   • Code within usage limits

   Display:

   • Original price shown struck through
   • Discount amount displayed
   • New total calculated
5. Review Order

   Order summary displayed:

   ┌─────────────────────────────────────┐
   │ Order Summary                       │
   ├─────────────────────────────────────┤
   │ Professional Plan (Annual)    $588  │
   │ Promo: WELCOME25             -$147  │
   ├─────────────────────────────────────┤
   │ Subtotal                      $441  │
   │ GST (10%)                      $44  │
   ├─────────────────────────────────────┤
   │ Total                         $485  │
   │ Billed annually                     │
   │ Next billing: Dec 22, 2026          │
   └─────────────────────────────────────┘
   
6. Enter Payment Details

   Stripe Elements embedded payment form:

   Payment Methods:

   • Credit/Debit Card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex)
   • Digital Wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay)
   • Bank Transfer (if enabled)

   Card Form Fields:

   • Card number
   • Expiry date
   • CVC
   • Cardholder name
   • Billing address (if required)

   Saved Cards:

   • If returning customer, show saved payment methods
   • Option to add new card
7. Process Payment

   Member clicks “Complete Purchase”:

   1. Frontend validates card details
   2. Stripe creates PaymentIntent
   3. 3D Secure authentication if required
   4. Payment processed
   5. Webhook received by backend
   6. Membership record created/updated
8. Confirmation

   On successful payment:

   • Success message displayed
   • Membership activated immediately
   • Confirmation email sent with:
     • Invoice/receipt
     • Membership details
     • Welcome information
     • Getting started guide
   • Redirected to dashboard or welcome page

Payment Failure Handling

Failure Reason	User Message	Recovery Action
Card declined	”Your card was declined. Please try another card.”	Enter different card
Insufficient funds	”Payment failed. Please check your card balance.”	Use different card
Card expired	”This card has expired. Please use a valid card.”	Update card details
3D Secure failed	”Authentication failed. Please try again.”	Retry authentication
Network error	”Connection error. Please try again.”	Retry payment
Fraud detected	”Unable to process payment. Contact support.”	Contact support

Subscription Management

After purchase, member can:

• View active subscription in profile
• See next billing date
• Update payment method
• Download invoices
• Cancel/downgrade (with confirmation)

Group/Corporate Membership

If member is part of a corporate plan:

• Plan may be pre-assigned
• Payment handled by organization
• Member sees “Sponsored by [Company]”
• No payment required from individual

Related Entities

• Membership Plan
• Membership Pricing
• User Membership
• Payment Transaction
• Unearned Revenue

Related Journeys

• UJ-M-004
• UJ-M-005
• UJ-M-031

Acceptance Criteria

Frontend

• Plan comparison page with feature matrix
• Pricing toggle (monthly/annual)
• Promo code input with validation
• Order summary with real-time calculation
• Stripe Elements payment form integration
• Saved payment methods display
• 3D Secure modal handling
• Loading states during payment processing
• Success confirmation page
• Error handling with clear messages

Backend

• GET /api/membership-plans - List available plans
• GET /api/membership-plans/{id} - Plan details
• POST /api/membership/subscribe - Create subscription
• POST /api/promo-codes/validate - Validate promo code
• POST /api/payments/create-intent - Create Stripe PaymentIntent
• Webhook handler for payment_intent.succeeded
• Webhook handler for customer.subscription.created

Permissions

• Any authenticated user can view plans
• Only members without active subscription can purchase

Business Rules

• Promo codes validated against plan and usage limits
• Tax calculated based on member location
• Annual plans show monthly equivalent price
• Upgrading prorates remaining value
• Membership active immediately on payment success

Error Handling

• Payment failures logged with Stripe error codes
• Failed payments trigger support notification
• Partial failures (payment ok, membership creation failed) handled gracefully